Whatcha reading?

Whatcha reading?

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

What the Body Remembers: Shauna Singh Baldwin

So much goes on in this book. It is both heartfelt and informative. It describes both life in India as a woman, and life under British rule. I hadn't realized that Pakistan was formed (violently) from India after WWII. The main character becomes a second wife and through her we see the hardships women endure, not just through the protagonist's life, but the first wife, the servants, and her sister-in-law. As shocking as the events towards the end of the book are, the honor killings and the way the neighbors turned, they are all believable. I thought the last chapter with Satya's rebirth was interesting and an excellent way to end the book that seemed like it was going to end hopeful.

Sunday, March 25, 2012

Possum Living: Dolly Freed

A sassy book about living off the land and being self sustaining, I liked that the author was 18 when she wrote it.

Thursday, March 22, 2012

Intelligence in the Rum War at Sea: Eric Ensign

Got an autographed book, doesn't get much more exciting than that!! A really interesting read about the coastguard's role during prohibition. The encrypting done by a woman (Elizabeth Friedman), passenger pigeons, spies, and moon cycles were all really interesting! I encourage one to read it, very informative and a short quick read.

Saturday, March 17, 2012

The Extraordinary Coach: John Zenger and Kathleen Stinnett

Another great resource for coaching. It goes into a lot of detail defining who you are as a leader and who you want to be. I liked the charts and tools it provided.

Friday, March 16, 2012

Turn of Mind: Alice La Plante

An excellent book about a woman with dementia told from her point of view. It is not only heart wrenching watching her decline, but she is charged in the murder of her best friend and it isn't until the very last chapter that the reader learns what happened. A very quick read with different stories of a persons life woven together, you don't realize how many stories one has to tell until they aren't in a linear fashion.

Monday, March 12, 2012

Delivering Knock Your Socks Off Service

A great place to start if you are some sort of leader in your company- it was inspiring and had other sources to seek out throughout the book, I especially liked the section about different types of caller, it went into social aspects of different cultures as well as generational differences and expectations. A great resource.

The Dream: Harry Bernstein

I love this man's writing style. The invisible wall was the other story of his that I read. Again, very reminiscent of Angel's Ashes. A very sad life, but somehow still fulfilling and warm- a must read about what happened to his family when they came to America and how they separated and then found each other again.

Friday, March 9, 2012

They Must Be Stopped: Brigitte Gabriel

Another one of those eye opening books that worries you about what we as Americans are oblivious to. I appreciate her mission and what she is doing attempting to slowly educate everyone. Thank You.

Friday, March 2, 2012

Customer Service Training 101: Renee Evenson

A cute motivational book with tips on how to inspire yourself and others to pretty much be respectful, helpful, and kind while remaining calm when dealing with difficult people.

The Turnaround: George Pelecanos

Wow, I really thought this book was going to end unhappily and was completely unprepared for it to continue to be uplifting. the book starts with a group of white boys driving around a black neighborhood. One of the boys throws something out the window and hits a boy in the chest. the road they are on then dead ends- the title is about both this and the way the boys turned their lives around. The night ends with one boy running away from his two friends in the car leaving one to be killed and one to be scarred for life. In present day the boy with the gun, his brother, and the scarred boy meet up and become friends and start a business, there are other characters, but seeing that I have pretty much ruined the book for anyone who hasn't read it, I'll leave them as a surprise.